Thursday, January 18, 2007

That Guitar Shaped Body

A friend of mine once told me that Italians and Africans are ass men, not tit men like the Americans. That's how he explained to me why Italian women don't show cleavage, and seem to be oblivious to the possibility of boob jobs.

My male companions have almost always encouraged me to gain some weight with the hope that my breasts will benefit, so I've always assumed that big breasts are something that men desire, but the American obsession with size EE breasts carries the whole thing a bit too far. The dressing room of my upscale gym is a great place to observe the fruit of L.A. plastic surgeons' labors, I'd say at least 50% of the women there have had some augmentation done, and the results are starting to feel creepy to me. That stretched out look is starting to make my skin crawl.

Now along comes the NYTimes to tell us about another country where the guys are ass men, not tit men. Brazil, where apparently the ideal body type (at least traditionally) is the "guitar shape". You get it. Curvy butt, generous thighs, smaller torso and breasts. This ideal of beauty has been coming under attack from U.S. cultural imperialism. Big boobs and skinny body have become the order of the day...